Office of Graduate Medical Education

The USA Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) oversees all graduate medical education training programs in the University of South Alabama Health System. The GMEC is chaired by the Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Designated Institutional Official (DIO) and the alternate DIO serves as the vice-chair of the committee. The Program Directors and Associate Program Directors of the GME training programs, representative core faculty, USA Health staff, and peer-selected residents and fellows serve on the Committee. The GMEC meets on the first Tuesday of each month, except for the month of July.

The purposes of the GMEC Subcommittee on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety are to…

• Promote housestaff education and engagement in patient safety and quality improvement in the USA Health System,
• Work with USA Health leaders to promote a culture of patient safety in the clinical learning environments,
• Address patient safety, quality improvement and care transition elements identified by the Clinical Learning Environment Review, and
• Monitor compliance and assist GME programs with ACGME requirements in the area of patient safety, quality improvement, and care transitions.

The subcommittee will report to the GMEC at least annually as well as when major changes in quality improvement and patient safety education are anticipated or implemented.

The ACGME updated the requirements related to the clinical learning environment, announced on March 10, 2017, and effective July 1, 2017. Regarding quality improvement and patient safety, the ACGME requirements state the following: 

• Residents are expected to work in interprofessional teams to enhance patient safety and improve patient care quality...
• The program, its faculty, residents, and fellows must actively participate in patient safety systems and contribute to a culture of safety.
• Programs must provide formal educational activities that promote patient safety-related goals, tools, and techniques.
• Residents, fellows, faculty members, and other clinical staff members must...
  • Know their responsibilities in reporting patient safety events at the clinical site;
  • Know how to report patient safety events, including near misses, at the clinical site; and, 
  • Be provided with summary information of their institution’s patient safety reports. 
• Residents should have the opportunity to participate in the disclosure of patient safety events, real or simulated. 
• The program director, in partnership with the Sponsoring Institution, must provide a culture of professionalism that supports patient safety and personal responsibility. 
• Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, must ensure and monitor effective, structured hand-over processes to facilitate both continuity of care and patient safety. 
• Programs must ensure that residents are competent in communicating with team members in the hand-over process. 
• Programs and clinical sites must maintain and communicate schedules of attending physicians and residents currently responsible for care.  

Subcommittee Members

• Chris Jett, MSHA, MBA (USACW Administration), Subcommittee Co-Chair
• Sam Dean, MBA, MHA (USAMC Administration), Subcommittee Co-Chair
• Samuel McQuiston, MD (Radiology), Subcommittee Co-Chair
• Haley Ballard, MD (Internal Medicine)
• Carole Boudreaux, MD (Pathology)
• Geami Britt, MD, PGY-IV (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
• Ashleigh Butts-Wilkerson, MD (Family Medicine)
• Sandra Curtis, RN, BSN (USA Ambulatory)
• Haidee Custodio, MD (Pediatrics)
• Sharon Ezell, MSN, RN, CPHQ (USAMC)
• Natalie Fox, CRNP, (USA Physicians Group)
• Jonathan Gillig, MD, PGY-IV (Orthopaedic Surgery)
• Monira Haque, MD, PGY-III (Pathology)
• Beth Leffard, MSN, RN, CPHQ (USAMC)
• Elizabeth Long, MD PGY-IV (Surgery)
• Jorge Lopez, MD (Neurology)
• James Martin, MD, PGY-III (Internal Medicine)
• Amy McRae, BSN, MHA, JD (USACW)
• Jennifer Pierce, MD (MCI Gynecology Oncology)
• Frank Rutigliano, MD, PGY-III (Surgery)

The purpose of the GMEC Subcommittee on Simulation Education and Assessment is to establish and maintain simulation and skills laboratories and facilities to advance the acquisition and maintenance by housestaff of clinical skills with a competency-based method of evaluation. Further, the subcommittee will monitor compliance and assist GME programs with meeting ACGME requirements in simulation education. The subcommittee will report to the GMEC at least annually as well as when major changes in simulation education are anticipated or implemented.

The membership of the subcommittee will be composed of individuals from GME programs with ACGME requirements in simulation or with identifiable simulation needs. The chair of the subcommittee may appoint members to the subcommittee with approval by the assistant dean for GME. Members of the subcommittee are not required to be members of the GMEC. 

Subcommittee Members

• Jon Simmons, MD (General Surgery), Subcommittee Chair
• Craig Sherman, MD (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
• Phil Almalouf, MD (Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care)
• Linda Ding, MD (Surgery Critical Care)
• Joyce Guest, PhD (GME)
• Mike Jacobs, RN, DNS (Simulation Director)
• Samuel McQuiston, MD (Radiology), ex officio
• Meir Mizrahi, MD (Gastroenterology)
• Osama Rahim, MD (Interventional Radiology)
• Patrick Smith, MD, PGY-V (Orthopaedic Surgery)

The purpose of the GMEC Subcommittee on Wellness is to promote the psychological, emotional, and physical well being of the housestaff, physician educators, and GME staff. Further, the subcommittee will monitor compliance with ACGME requirements in the area of resident and fellow well being and fatigue mitigation.

The ACGME updated the requirements related to the clinical learning environment, announced on March 10, 2017, and effective July 1, 2017. Regarding well-being of residents and faculty physicians and fatigue mitigation, the ACGME requirements state the following: 

• Programs, in partnership with their Sponsoring Institutions, have the same responsibility to address well-being as they do to evaluate other aspects of resident competence. This responsibility must include:
  • Efforts to enhance the meaning that each resident finds in the experience of being a physician, including protecting time with patients, minimizing non-physician obligations, providing administrative support, promoting progressive autonomy and flexibility, and enhancing professional relationships;
  • Attention to scheduling, work intensity, and work compression that impacts resident well-being;
  • Evaluating workplace safety data and addressing the safety of residents and faculty members;
  • Policies and programs that encourage optimal resident and faculty member well-being; and,
  • Attention to resident and faculty member burnout, depression, and substance abuse.
• The program, in partnership with its Sponsoring Institution, must educate faculty members and residents in identification of the symptoms of burnout, depression, and substance abuse, including means to assist those who experience these conditions. Residents and faculty members must also be educated to recognize those symptoms in themselves and how to seek appropriate care.
• Programs must:
  • Educate all faculty members and residents to recognize the signs of fatigue and sleep deprivation; Educate all faculty members and residents in alertness management and fatigue mitigation processes; and,
  • Encourage residents to use fatigue mitigation processes to manage the potential negative effects of fatigue on patient care and learning.

Subcommittee Members

• Grace Hundley, MD (Med/Peds), Subcommittee Chair
• Samuel McQuiston, MD (Radiology), Subcommittee Vice Chair
• Brian Allred (USA Recreation Center, Director; USA Wellness Initiative Committee, Chair)
• Sharrie Cranford, LMSW, MS (CME)
• Dorothy Dickinson, GME Program Coordinator (Surgery)
• Sophia Gosling, MD (Pediatrics)
• Tomeika Hawkins, Accreditation Specialist (GME)
• TJ Hundley, MD (Internal Medicine)
• Tina Jackson, MD, PGY-III (Psychiatry)
• Candace Lyn Perry, MD (Psychiatry)
• Ehab Molokhia, MD (Family Medicine)
• Harrison Trammell, MD, PGY-III (Internal Medicine)

The GMEC Subcommittee on Wellness is committed to promoting the physical, mental and emotional well being of the faculty, housestaff, and staff in the GME programs at USA. We acknowledge the challenges that lead to burnout, depression and suicide, and we work to assist physicians as they strive for personal balance, professional fulfillment, and joy in their vocation.  

Wellness Contacts

When you feel that you need to seek support, you should reach out to one of the following:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

• Website: suicidepreventionlifeline.org
• Hotline: (800) 273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK)
• Crisis text life: Text to 741-741

Local Resources

• Your department chair or GME program director
• Carole W. Boudreaux, M.D., associate dean for graduate medical education, at (251) 471-7206
• USA Employee Assistance Program at (251) 460-6141
• Staff at Bayview Professional Associates at (251) 660-2360 or (888) 335-3044

Online Resources

• USA Benefits & Wellness
• Wellness at South
• JagFIT@South
• The Ten Commandments of Physician Wellness by Edward J. Krall, MD
• Steps Forward Program by the AMA
• Charter on Physician Well-being

Self-Screening Tools

• Self Help from USA Counseling and Testing Services
• Anonymous Online Self-Tests from JagFIT@South

5th Friday Celebration

“5th Friday Celebration” is an ongoing initiative sponsored by the USA GME Office and USA Health administration to honor those in residency and fellowship training for their dedication to patient care, USA Health and the medical field. Fifth Friday celebrations, held during months with a “5th Friday” over the course of the academic year, provide an opportunity for residents and fellows to interact and celebrate their contributions to our health system.

Free Cab Service for Residents and Fellows Too Fatigued to Safely Return Home After Work

To request a cab:

1. Call the hospital operator at 415-1000.
2. Provide the operator your name, home address and where you would like to be picked up. (Pick up locations include USA Health University Hospital and USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital.)
3. Approximately 20 minutes after your call, vouchers for your ride home and a return trip to retrieve your car will be available from the lobby staff at the hospital where you will be picked up.
4. To retrieve your vehicle, call the number for the cab company on the return voucher and present the voucher to the cab driver when he/she picks you up.

Lactation Facility Locations

USA Health University Hospital

• Room #455, on the 4th floor near Physical Therapy

USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital

• Room #2185, near the NICU
• Room #4161, near the Peds Tower

USA Health Strada Patient Care Center

• 1st floor Peds waiting room

USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute

• Room #2006

GME Office Staff

Carole W. Boudreaux, M.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate Medical Education (GME); ACGME Designated Institutional Official (DIO); and Chair, Graduate Medical Education Committee
CBoudrea@Health.SouthAlabama.edu

Tomeika Hawkins
GME Accreditation Specialist
THawkins@Health.SouthAlabama.edu

Regina Stanley
GME Program Assistant
RStanley@Health.SouthAlabama.edu

Brigett Davis - Hospital Staff
Hospital Housestaff Coordinator, Ombudsperson
BDavis@Health.SouthAlabama.edu

Danielle Haynes
Hospital Housestaff Coordinator Assistant
DanielleHaynes@Health.SouthAlabama.edu 

GME Office Functions

• GME Committee Meetings
• Program Coordinator Meetings and Workshops
• Institutional Policies
• ACGME Accreditation
• National Residency Matching Program (NRMP)
• Program Letters of Agreement
• New Innovations
• American Medical Association GME Competency Education Program
• Verification of Training Status

Verification of Training

The Graduate Medical Education office can assist with requests for training verifications (dates only). The turnaround time is generally 1-2 business days. The Graduate Medical Education Office can verify only dates of residency and/or fellowship training. Training verification requests that require more than verification of dates must be sent to the appropriate Program Coordinator. Requests to the GME Office can be made via the following methods: 

• In Person: The GME office is located in the Mastin Patient Care Center (directly behind University Hospital) in Room 212. Our hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
• US Mail: Graduate Medical Education, 2451 University Hospital Drive, 212 Mastin Patient Care Center, Mobile, AL 36617-2293
• E-mail: thawkins@health.southalabama.edu or rstanley@health.southalabama.edu 

NOTE: Programs may charge a service fee for training verification requests for alumni who completed training 5 or more years ago.